Laura's strongest life-long hobby was reading, and perhaps after that, writing poetry. The writing of her famous books she did not look at as a hobby, she saw that differently.
Laura also collected dishware. Two of the designs she collected were rose chintz and blue willow.
She became an expert in raising laying hens and wrote her advice in a journal titled The Missourian Ruralist. Other articles regarding farm-life followed.
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Laura did not have many toys, but she treasured what she did have. She had a doll made from a corn cob and later a rag doll named Charlotte. Laura and Mary also loved to play with an inflated pig's bladder at butchering time. They also made button strings and paper dolls. Mostly, the outdoor world was their playground.
When she had time, she played with dolls. In the Big Woods ofWisconsin her place of birth, she had a corncob doll called Susan before receiving Charlotte, a rag doll. Her sister Mary had a rag doll named Nettie, and Laura and Mary also had a collection of paper dolls.
The Ingalls family had a series of dogs during the time Laura was growing up, as well as cats (on a farm, you need both). She compressed the dogs into one dog - Jack - which the family actually gave away before they moved to Plum Creek, Minnesota. She compressed the cats into "Black Susan", in her first book, and "Kitty" in "Little Town" and "Happy Golden Years". Laura herself considered the various calves she raised as pets, as much as any other animals.
"A cup, a penny, a heart-shaped cake and a candy cane" is how Laura described Christmas gifts in "Little House on the Prairie". In her other books, she describes other Christmas gifts on other Christmases.
One Christmas, Laura Ingalls received a shiny new pair of tin cups as a special gift. She was thrilled with her present and appreciated the simple joy it brought her during the holiday season.